Sunday, July 15, 2012

Last year when Hurricane Irene was threatening to pillage the east coast, we battened down, packed up and left the family beach house following the hoards out of dodge. It was a surreal series of events, watching the vast storm system move up the coast while listening to the Governor of the State of New Jersey urge everyone to leave the coastal areas as soon as possible. This hurricane did seem to be the big one. I had no problem leaving. I have no doubt that Mother Nature is in charge.

But this time we were spared.

This time,

she exercised her prerogative to change her mind.

When we arrived back to the house, there were definite signs Irene had stopped by. Branches, leaves, lawn chairs were strewn about, trees were down and occasional power outages were reported, but we still had a house. A House unscathed. Irene had lifted one of our trees from our tree lawn, and split it in half, and we needed to cut it down.

The stump was a reminder that Irene had come and gone, because Mother Nature had exercised her prerogative to change her mind.

When we returned in the Spring, Mother Nature had exercised her prerogative once again. From one of the roots, she had decided to re-grow the tree. She wasn't finished with it yet.

Although its branches and trunk had been injured and broken, and ultimately amputated, Its root system was strong. It shifted its gears, and decided to continue.

“The death of a dream can in fact serve as the vehicle that endows it with new form, with reinvigorated substance, a fresh flow of ideas, and splendidly revitalized color. In short, the power of a certain kind of dream is such that death need not indicate finality at all but rather signify a metaphysical and metaphorical leap forward.”

Sunday, July 8, 2012

I was so excited when I captured this photo. I had borrowed my daughter's SLR camera and went out on a photo shoot with a friend from my photography class. We agreed that we should continue to meet after the class was over to continue supporting each other's progress. It was the first photography class I had ever taken. All of the students had varying degrees of skill and experience. Some used point and shoot cameras, some used professional looking cameras and long lenses. Most of my experience was on an Iphone camera. I had taken and stored over 4, 000 photos on it .But I had also been experimenting with my daughter's 35 mm Digital SLR Camera, so I brought that. At the time I was mostly using automatic settings. I called the Teacher in advance to see what the class was all about.

It was a three day class. It was called Italian Market Immersion Experience.

First day: Meet at the Italian Market, each go our separate ways, Immerse ourselves in the Italian Market, and capture what appeals to us. Use whatever camera you brought. Capture any way you can. Have fun. O.K. I can do all that. When It came to capturing images, and angles, composition and framing: I felt confident.

I was also taking an art class at the time. My ninety three year old teacher had begun the class with this sentence, "Before you begin, 'Decide what it is you want to say' ." As an artist, there's always some underlying feeling or notion that strikes you in such a way that you want to capture and share it. You see an image juxtaposed against another, or an emotion displayed and it strikes you.

It's like that Blues song by Keb Mo, called

God trying to Get Your attention.

"...Might look like a planOr a coalitionOr it might be God trying to get your attentionOhhhWell you might be deafOr you might be dumbYou'll get the answerWhen the answer comesIt might be news On your televisionOr it might be God trying to get your attentionIt might be God trying to get your attention..."

And that's exactly how I feel when I have my camera in hand and want to capture something.

It's the moment before I begin shooting.

I've been struck with the message I want to convey.

I've decided what it is that I want to say.

I'm never sure if the viewer will see it in the way I did.

I'm never sure if it will strike them in the same way.

But it doesn't matter.

It did what it needed to do, for ME.

Maybe they will see what they need to see, in their own God-given way.

Second Day of my first ever Photography Class. We were told to have chosen 6 photos and print them in 8x10's. Only 6. I had taken over 100. This task was daunting. Which ones do you choose when you are expected to present them and extrapolate? I chose these 6.

We all presented and discussed our pictures. We all "oohed" and "ahhed" over each other's unique perspectives while still valuing our own. We helped each other choose 2 of the six for our

Third and final day of class:

Meet at the frame shop to learn how to and mat and frame our work. We chose basic black metal frames and our work was then displayed back at the Night School Building for all to see. The two I chose were the Olives and the Knives. Choosing the six was hard. Am I looking for universal appeal? Am I looking for what might be considered classically a "good" picture?

Or am I to choose the 6 that really show who I am as an Artist? How I see the World.

Who I am.

I think I struck it down the middle.

But getting back to the first picture. The one that compelled me to write this post.

Butterfly hovering above the lavender. If you want to know why I am so thrilled with this picture, this is why. First of all, I captured a moving object by using the right shutter speed. And secondly, because of what happened-- what I noticed-- before I captured it. As I was fumbling with the lenses, and the shutter speeds--hoping in earnest to have the opportunity with this White Butterfly and these Lavender stems to

say what I wanted to say

- a gentle breeze came by. The butterfly, who had been fluttering about- from lavender stem to lavender stem had landed on one it found appealing, and despite the wind's most gallant attempt to remove him from the stem-

AddThis

About the Author

I believe the most profound insights can be found in the most ordinary occurrences. I enjoy being present in the great outdoors with my family and my pets, and writing about the every day. I am easily and often moved to tears. I love reading, and writing both poetry and prose; hiking and, kayaking and boating on The Chesapeake Bay where I walk the shore line with our family dog Captain looking for sea glass and capturing it all on my I Phone camera. For the past three years, I’ve been reminding myself that I am a Writer, by sharing my thoughts and musings here. If it resonates with you and you feel inclined to share, Please Do. Your Comments are always welcome. I encourage you to share them here.